BRUSSELS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Twelve European Union countries have failed to draw up emergency plans to prepare for possible industrial accidents near plants that deal with dangerous substances, the EU's executive said on Wednesday.

The European Commission said it had stepped up legal action against those nations for breaching EU law on the subject, laid out in the so-called Serveso II Directive.

The offending countries are Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

"Although we cannot eliminate the risk of industrial accidents in modern societies, we can strive to minimise the risks of such accidents happening and to mitigate their consequences," Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said.

"It is thus vital that legislation designed to deal with this is properly implemented," he said in a statement.

The Commission said it was sending the countries final written warnings. That is the last step before going to court, which can eventually levy fines for failures to follow EU rules.

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